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Month: December 2017

Over the last 20 years, the threat posed by contraband cellular devices entering the nation’s prisons and jails has reached a tipping point. Each year, the number of illegal cell phones proliferating in the nation’s carceral institutions has ballooned, with some experts estimating that nearly all of the nation’s prisoners, in 2016, could access illegal cell phones, provided that they had enough money.

But all that is beginning to change. Securus Technologies, one of the leading provider of inmate communications solutions and prison security platforms has unveiled one of the most hi-tech solutions to ever emerge in the fight against contraband cell phones. Dubbed the Wireless Containment System, the technology is directly adapted from systems developed by the Department of Defense for use on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Wireless Containment System is able to emulate local cell phone towers, tricking any targeted device into thinking that it is actually communicating with its own network when, in fact, it is directly connecting to the anti-phone system. The system then gives officers the ability to either allow the call to be passed through the system and on to the nearest tower, as would normally happen, or it gives the operator the option to deny the call, giving the user a similar message to what they would receive if they were out of range.

The system has proven to be 100 percent effective in denying unauthorized calls. However, Securus has had more difficult time getting it approved by the FCC than with many of their other products. This is because the system is essentially a military-grade technology, with the capacity to be seriously misused on the public airwaves. In fact, the system is theoretically capable of shutting down all cellular communications within the area about the size of a small town.

But Securus has tweaked the system to the point where it can be reliably programmed to only interfere with communications taking place on the prison grounds. As a result, the system has recently been approved for full use in the nation’s prisons. And it’s been off to a great start.

Prisons where the Wireless Containment System have been deployed have reported that the rate of unauthorized cellular communications has dropped to zero. On top of this, the system is designed to allow corrections officers to pinpoint the exact location of any contraband device that is turned on within prison grounds. This has, likewise, dropped the number of randomly confiscated cell phones on routine searches to nearly zero, indicating that the phones confiscated directly by detection with the Wireless Containment System amount to nearly every contraband phone within the institution.

The WCS has been a major success, and Securus is working to bring it to other prisons across the country.

Human rights are an essential aspect of the society and thus require protection. Numerous groups across the globe fight for the protection of such rights. Such groups advocate for the provision of civil, migrant as well as human rights.

Some of the most recognized initiatives that promote the protection of human rights include the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, Amazon Watch, Lacey & Larkin Frontera Fund, and The Advocates for Human Rights among others. CHIRLA, a California-based organization, is concerned with the protection of the welfare of immigrants and their families.

The organization’s line of activities is directed towards the provision of a safe environment for the mobility of immigrants in their associated nations. Additionally, CHIRLA ensures that immigrants participate in democracy operations regardless of their nationality as stipulated by the respective countries.

The project partners with litigation systems including district and supreme courts for the establishment of sophisticated legal programs. Under the guidance of Jim Larkin and Michael Lacey, immigrants have been granted the right to judicial procedures.

The Advocates for Human Rights have been operational for over three decades. Throughout its existence, women, kids, and immigrants have experienced modesty in their lifestyles due to the protection of their rights.

Besides pioneering ACLU, Jim Larkin and Michael Lacey established the Lacey & Larkin Frontera Fund. The foundation focuses on benefitting the Hispanic community that has over time resulted in the recognizing of the significance of human rights protection. Read more: Jim Larkin | Crunchbase and Michael Lacey | Twitter

Since its establishment, the Lacey & Larkin Frontera Fund has impacted the community significantly. Its operations are characterized by funding a variety of groups that advocate for the protection of human and civil rights.

The organization’s success is attached to its partnership with other prestigious and famous initiatives. The most recognized collaboration is Jim Larkin and Michael Lacey’s cooperation with Border Angels. Border Angels is a non-profit company located in San Diego. The operations of the organization align with that of Larkin & Lacey Frontera Fund.

Both initiatives work towards securing immigrants’ lives in countries and along the borders. Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin are passionate about ensuring equality. The source of the money donated from their organization is the $3.75 million settlement fund.

Tokenization of in-game items is the future of the gaming industry. Worldwide Asset eXchange has been spearheading this agenda which will not only give gamers the liberty to own virtual assets, but it will also fractionalize player profits from centralized exchanges, create an avenue for games which were unable to transfer assets and at the same time lower transaction costs. However, tokenization comes with a lot of challenges such as monitoring tokens and ensuring that those on the blockchain are tied to their chains. WAX has put measures to curb this by making token holders responsible for transferring items through the Transfer Agents. Transfer agents are then taken to task by a supervisory committee known such as rating systems, delegated stake consensus algorithm, and Guilds.

Decentralization of governance will allow gamers to own assets from their icons such as a Babe Ruth baseball card, an Aston Martin from a James Bond Movie or even Michael Jordan’s NBA shoes that he wore while winning a championship game. With Guilds providing oversight, Transfer Agents will specialize in the delivery of assets.

About Malcolm CasSelleMalcolm CasSelle is the Chief Technology Officer and President of New Ventures at tronc, Inc. He graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and later advanced his studies at Stanford University where he graduated with a master’s degree in Computer Science. Malcolm CasSelle began his career at MediaPass where he served as the Chief Executive Officer. He also worked at Xfire which is a social network for gamers as the CEO. He held top positions at Tencent, a gaming giant in China. He served as the director of Capital Union Investments in Hong Kong. Malcolm is a proud co-founder of Netfoir Company which was the first of its kind to be incorporated into the AOL Greenhouse Program. He was also part of the founding team of Pacific Century Cyberworks. Before New Ventures, Malcolm was the General Manager and Senior Vice President of Digital Media of SeaChange International. Malcolm CasSelle is an icon in the gaming industry. Besides gaming, Malcolm has also invested in other companies like Zynga, Facebook, and Bitcoin.